Cara meets Morgan
by carapendragon
Summary: Set after Richard sends Cara away for killing Kahlan's sister. Instead of wandering into Stowecroft, she ends up at Castle Pendragon.


**Cara Mason/Morgan Pendragon featuring Sybil and Vivian**

_Set after Richard sends Cara away for killing Kahlan's sister. Instead of wandering into Stowecroft, she ends up at Castle Pendragon. _

Cara raced through the woods, panting as her hair flew in all different directions. She didn't stop or dare to look back, enough to hear Richard trying to calm Kahlan down as she lunged for Cara. She ran until woods faded behind her and plains passed in strides. Day and night faded, but no one stopped her. The last order for Lord Rahl had been to go, to run. She would do so until she dropped dead. Her legs were as near to numb as they ever had been. Her boots skidded to a halt as she neared the sea and panicked like a fearful horse. She leaped back and forth nervously as she debated on what to do. A twig snapped behind her and she drove into the water and swam as if her life depended on it. If Kahlan were indeed behind her, her life did depend on it.

Fear and anguish made time nearly impossible to tell. The bond with Lord Rahl wavered as she swam, but she knew she couldn't stop. It was Richard that told her to go. The waves rose far above her head, nearly drowning her at every turn. She cared not for the waves, for the sun baring down, for the moon and the breeze, for the creatures who soared above or for the water wrinkles now almost cruelly imbedded in her skin. Cara couldn't feel where Richard was anymore, or even if he still lived. But he was alive, she could feel the sting of the agiel around her in the water. It would keep her protected from any water creatures that dared come up to taste.

Fatigue hit her like a truck and she tried to float on her back, sputtering water out as she drifted toward calmer waters. Closing her eyes, she stumbled up when she felt the shore under her. Fearing Kahlan's wrath, she tried to run. Exhaustion caught up with her first and she dropped, losing consciousness. When she woke, she was dry but uncomfortable. The sun beat down on her and the dunes aside the beach were unfamiliar. Wasting no time, she stood and hissed at the loss of one of her boots. She found the waterlogged boot at the edge of the water and slid it on nonetheless.

Her legs were forced to yield to her will as she drove them over the land again, she imagined she would not have covered as much land if she'd had a faster mode of transportation. The kiss of the agiel was much more painful than years of running on end. It was her fault Richard disowned her and Kahlan hated her. It grew dark upon her arrival to a town, but she was relieved. A night out of her leathers would be a good night. She braced herself as she entered a tavern in the middle of the town, which already had loud but clearly harmless drunken shouts. Cara received a few looks of caution, surprise and even attraction. What surprised her, was she hardly saw fear.

The innkeeper was male and clearly eyeing her as if she were meat, so she approached him with a sultry smirk. Even though her hair was a windblown muss, she suspected she still looked better than the most part if not all of the women in the small town. "What town am I in?" _"Wales, my lady."_ The man replied, staring more at her chest than anything. Cara had never learned of any place with that name. Perhaps she had swam downstream and ended somewhere in the Old World. "Could you tell me in which direction is the People's Palace?" He looked confused and handed a drink to a man across the bar, then one to her. _"You mean the Castle Pendragon? You must be new around here, ain't no People's Palace around here. Just Castle Pendragon and Camelot." _

Cara fixed her mistake with a nod and sipped the drink, giving the edge of the cup a suggestive lick. "Yes, Castle Pendragon. That sounds familiar." She purred, noticing that the owner off the inn seemed oddly young. "Would your father object if you and I borrowed a room together to discuss the _Castle Pendragon_?" The man nodded and beckoned her to follow. She did, down a well lit hallway and entered a simply furnished room. Her suitor began to lather on the charm, closing the door and offering to unlace her. She allowed him after removing her agiels, revelling the thought that she didn't have to take off her own leathers. Once her boots were shed and her leather was gone, she stripped off her gloves and ripped the shirt off her victim. Once the rest was off, she had her way with him. She growled to herself in disgust as she noticed that he was still present in the morning. Politely, she batted her eyelashes, suggested breakfast with a bath for herself and supplies to clean her leather.

The innkeeper's son ran off to the task like a dutiful servant. Another young boy brought the water for her bath and she covered as she entered, only because he was so young. When she finally sunk down in the water, she scrubbed herself off and awaited her meal. Her previous conquest arrived and to her surprise, fed her meal to her as she bathed and polished her leather for her. Soon, she became agitated at sitting and removed herself from the bath. Just as she was about to lift herself out of the bath, the man reached for her agiels. She shouted just before the man gripped her agiels and screamed in pain. He writhed against the floor until she rose and ripped him from them.

The door burst open and two men entered and flew at her. She managed to agiel one before the other, much heavier man held her arms beneath her and pinned her. Cara didn't put up much of a fight when she knew she was outmatched. She was pulled back into her leather and her agiel belt was lifted with a fire poker and tossed into a saddle bag. The Mord Sith soon found her ankles bound and her face blindfolded as she was tossed inside a wagon. She tilted her head as she noticed them stopping and heard the protesting of the drivers, begging to be let in. They were finally let past after a few words about a complaint to the king's sister. This would be interesting.

Cara was pulled roughly from the wagon and half dragged to a room full of noise. As far as she knew, she was in some sort of public setting to be complained about. She huffed as her blindfold was removed and she knelt at a pair of thrones. Seated in one, was a dark haired woman with piercing blue eyes. Cara gave in a little extra kneel and bent her head, but gazed up at the woman with a stare worthy of her view. If only she were not so...hindered. She could buy her freedom with her skills.

Morgan's eyebrow rose as two bustling men carried in a blonde covered in leather. A third man, carried a bag at arm's length and dropped it on the floor away from the kneeling blonde. The brunette eyed her state, looking much like Sybil had only a few moons ago. Something about the woman intrigued her, so she looked toward the men who brought her in and coughed. "Why are you here, innkeep?" It was not the first time she'd heard a complaint from the man since Sybil suggested she take more care while dealing with lower classes. _"Lady Morgan...we have heard of how you make a good judge in your brother's stead. This witch woman killed my son last night, after seducing him. She beat him with a magic rod and now he struggles to breathe. We look for your guidance on how to deal with this monster." _

"Witch?" Cara laughed and straightened up her back. "Your highness, if I might be so bold as to speak I shall." She noticed that the Lady Morgan made no objections, so she continued. "I am called Cara, my kind are known as the Sisters of the Agiel. I have swam and ran many leagues upon meeting the son of the man who speaks to you now. I was not out to seduce him, but he accepted my invitation. And he is not dead. Unconscious, and he will wake in a day or two. I told him to keep away from my weapons. He did not used the required caution."

Morgan could not have denied the woman the chance to speak, even if she had wanted to. The blonde reminded her much of herself, strong willed and determined. She carried herself highly, even bound in ropes along with chains. Morgan easily paid more attention to the woman named Cara compared to the innkeeper. He was a bore. She had caught on to the part about Sisters of the Agiel. It was curious and she wanted to know more. Was it like a nunnery? She nodded, her coronet resting lightly atop her pulled back hair. "Bring me the weapons." A man scrambled and tossed the bag at her feet. Sybil reached out to touch her shoulder in a gesture of caution as she reached for it. Morgan pulled out a well fashioned leather belt that matched. Along the side of it, were two long red rods. She reached out for one and quickly recoiled with a hiss. Her senses caught onto it before any real harm could be done.

Cara couldn't say she hadn't warned the Lady. Her agiels were no toy. By the way she ripped her hand away before a touch, Cars knew she was a witch. Not many shied away from the agiel before it touched them. Save witches..and wizards. As she eyed the woman in black and white behind Morgan, she knew she was not in either the Old or New World. This was an odd place.

_"As you can tell, these weapons are lethal to all that touch them. With this, she murdered my son. I saw him, he's dying." _Morgan nearly chuckled as she noticed Cara roll her eyes. "Have you any proof that your son is dead? This woman seems as if she has nothing to lie about, if she is to face my wrath I do not doubt that she would tell the truth." The innkeeper shook his head and shifted in place. _"I only have the proof that I saw her above my son with the weapon in question and she touched another one of my men with it when we went after her." _

The giggle that left Morgan was girlish and adorable. If Cara weren't brooding so much, she might have leaped across the room and tackled the Queen's sister to hear even more noises. "So you have _no_ proofthat this fine lady killed anyone of yours. Release her, now." She growled, and Cara felt her knees buckle at the command. The men stayed a second until Morgan glared at them and she was released. All of the men backed away from her and the innkeeper stood taller as his voice grew stiffer. _"Lady Morgan, this woman is dangerous. She must be executed. If you can't do it, I will."_

Morgan ceased all jests now. When her rulings were made, they were made. "If you choose to threaten this woman in my presence and I have given her the freedom she deserves, she may take up arms against you. Cara, in Castle Pendragon you may keep your weapons at your side until you give me reason to say otherwise. Let no man take them from you." Morgan's thighs trembled at the sight of Cara's smirk and her bow before she grabbed her weapons and secured her belt.

The innkeeper leapt at Cara and Morgan wanted to order him out. She didn't know what made her feel so sympathetic towards a strange woman, even though she no longer seemed so strange. Cara was graceful when she moved. Her rods flew like the wind and the innkeeper dropped to the ground with a frightful cry. His two men grabbed their master and fled quickly. Facing the castle doors she slid her agiels into their holster and turned, striding back toward the thrones. Pulling an agiel from her side she laid it at Morgan's feet. "I offer my service in place for the life you saved."

Morgan's breath caught as the woman headed back to her after easily dispatching the man. She grinned at the rod left at her feet, knowing all too well how useful the skills of this woman could prove. "I accept your offer and service, Cara of the Sisters of the Agiel." She waved her arms and ordered the room to be emptied, wishing the merchants and people good will as she pretended to rest. "Do you have a title in your station, Cara?" Morgan asked as she rose from her throne and beckoned Cara to follow. Cara was more than obedient. "I am called Mistress Cara.." Over her shoulder, Morgan giggled.


End file.
